The bigger Rome shock? Jasmine Paolini shares her thoughts on Swiatek and Sabalenka

Jasmine Paolini chose which elimination surprised her the most at the Italian Open between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. The Italian reached the final of the tournament after defeating American Peyton Stearns in the semifinals 7-5, 6-1, in what will be her second appearance in the final of a WTA 1000 tournament, and what better place than at home.

The world No. 6 spoke at a press conference after overcoming Stearns and making history as the first Italian finalist since 2015 – the year Sara Errani finished as runner-up, falling to Serena Williams in the final. In addition to the evident emotion of the 29-year-old player, she was asked if she was more surprised by the elimination of Swiatek – at the hands of Danielle Collins – or that of Aryna Sabalenka against Zheng Qinwen.

"Because of how the seasons went in past years, I would say Swiatek," commented Paolini regarding her Polish colleague, champion of the tournament three times (2021, 2022, 2024) and four-time Roland Garros champion. "Because she's won here before. She's an incredible player on clay, [having] faced her at Roland Garros last year. On the one hand, it surprises me, but tennis is like this, every week and every year. It's not easy to stay at these levels."

“She will definitely come back to Rome and win this tournament. Obviously not seeing her on the board here is surprising, but it’s normal, and I think she’ll definitely recover.

Swiatek has not won a single title since Roland Garros 2024 and also failed to defend her titles in Madrid and Rome this season, which caused her to drop a couple of positions in the ranking, falling out of the top-2 for the first time in over three years.

On Sabalenka's side, she fell short against Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, who ended a negative streak of six consecutive defeats against the Belarusian and achieved her first victory against Sabalenka, also guaranteeing her passage to the semifinals of Rome. Prior to being defeated, the world No. 1 had a record of 22-2 since Indian Wells and a streak of 9 consecutive wins, coming off winning the title at the Madrid Open.